NC County Commissioners Oppose Scrap Project

A proposed 750-acre metal recycling plant in Navassa, NC, was characterized as both a windfall and eyesore at the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners meeting, held May 3rd.

Commissioners cited environmental and traffic-related concerns before unanimously opposing the project. Speaking earlier in favor of the plant, Navassa Mayor Eulis Willis questioned why the matter was even on the agenda.

In October, Navassa officials approved a "satellite" annexation of an unincorporated tract in anticipation of the site being occupied by Hugo Neu Corp. The land has since been rezoned from rural to heavy manufacturing.

Company officials told the mayor that between 40 and 60 full-time jobs come with the plant, which is on land that is not contiguous to Navassa's borders. The county is legally powerless to oppose the town's endorsement of the proposal, but the resolution by commissioners sends a clear message to state regulatory agencies about their stance on the issue.

"We don't want to do battle with Brunswick County commissioners, but we still have 1,764 poor people, and we still have to figure out how to provide a living for them," Willis said. "We're talking about lives. Maybe this doesn't need to be a political football. Maybe Brunswick County needs to let the town of Navassa govern Navassa."

Willis said the proposed plant in Navassa is an easy issue for commissioners to exploit before the upcoming election.

"If it wasn't a small, poor black town, would that be the case?" he said.

A Hugo Neu official recently described the plant as "a non-ferrous metal recycling facility." Automobile scraps not containing iron or other marketable materials like plastic or glass would be stored in an industrial solid-waste landfill until a market is found.

That would likely be never, Commissioner Bill Sue said. Mr. Sue, who said all the homeowners in the area of the proposed plant are opposed, maintains Hugo Neu officials have refused to answer questions about the facility and how they plan to run it.

"It's a landfill, is what it is," Mr. Sue said. "We're sending our junk to Sampson County, so why should we take the junk from them?"

Commissioner May Moore said she has had misgivings about the plan since it was presented to the county planning board, of which she is a member. Hugo Neu also made a presentation to commissioners about a year ago for converting a site on unincorporated county land into a materials reclaiming facility.

"Basically, the same questions were not answered favorably. I can't support it in its current design," she said. "I have major questions about the facility."

At least one more public hearing will be held on the proposal at a Navassa Town Council meeting, possibly on May 20. Hugo Neu is performing engineering studies on the site. Others studies address the impact to wildlife, wetlands and traffic patterns.

The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources will then conduct a review. The state must issue a permit to allow the project to go forward. Hugo Neu hopes to be on-site by next year, company officials said.

Navassa residents stand ready to support the project.

"We're going to do what we have to do," said Willis. Star News Online (North Carolina)